Transport package for a boat propeller drive

ABSTRACT

A transport package for a boat propeller drive ( 2 ) that has a suspension fork ( 6 ) for suspending the drive in a suspension plate mounted on the stern transom of a boat. The package includes a bottom plate ( 14 ) and a cover that can be removed from the bottom plate. The drive is held in a fixed position in the package by means of upper and lower spacing elements ( 21, 22 ). When the cover and the upper spacing elements are removed, the suspension fork is exposed and the drive is held stable in an upright position by the bottom plate together with the lower spacing elements to serve as a mounting fixture.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation patent application ofInternational Application No. PCT/SE2004/000666 filed 30 Apr. 2004 whichwas published in English pursuant to Article 21(2) of the PatentCooperation Treaty, and which claim priority to Swedish Application No.0301521-1 filed 23 May 2003. Said applications are expresslyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a transport package for a boatpropeller drive of the type that has an upper gear case enclosing abevel gear, a drive shaft assembly projecting downwards from the gearcase, and means for suspending the propeller drive on a suspensionelement fixed on the stern transom of the hull of a boat, which packageforms a casing, which encloses the drive on all sides and containsspacing elements that hold the drive in position in the casing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To date, propeller drives of the type described above have been packagedin ordinary rectangular boxes that have a bottom which is attached tofour sides of the box, and each of which is joined to a flap. The flapscombine to form the lid of the box and are stapled and/or taped togetherto close the box after the propeller drive has been placed inside.Spacing elements have typically been included for holding the propellerdrive in position while in the box. To date, a number of polystyreneelements have been used and which in various places fill out the spacebetween the drive and the sides of the box. Prior to aligning andsuspending the drive on the stern of the boat, the packaging around thedrive must be removed in its entirety. This means that the box mustfirst be opened and a number of the polystyrene elements removed so thatthe drive is exposed and can be lifted out of the box either by hand orusing a hoist. Drives of this type can weigh up to 175 pounds (eightykilograms) requiring at least two people to lift out the drive by hand.

The work of lifting the drive by hand is heavy and, as the installationrequires accurate alignment, the work is difficult and uncertain. Evenwhen using a lifting yoke suspended in a hoist which makes it possiblefor one person to carry out the installation, it is still difficult tofinding the correct suspension points so that the drive is correctlybalanced in order to prevent problems from arise with respect toaligning the drive with the suspension element on the stern.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to achieve a transport package ofthe type described in the introduction, which can also be utilized as amounting fixture in order thereby to make it possible for a singleperson to carry out the whole process of mounting the drive, from theopening of the package to the alignment and mounting of the drive on thesuspension element, without the use of a lifting yoke suspended in ahoist and without physical exertion.

This is achieved according to the invention by means of the casingconsisting of at least two parts that can be separated from each other.One part has a flat bottom plate which forms a horizontal lower supportsurface when the casing is oriented in such a way that the drive standsupright with the gear case and the suspension means facing upwards. Theother part forms a cover which, together with first spacing elements,can be separated from the bottom plate in order to expose the suspensionmeans or arrangement. The bottom plate and second spacing elements arearranged and dimensioned so that after the removal of the cover and thefirst spacing elements, the bottom plate and the second spacing elementscan be utilized as a mounting fixture for holding the drive in aposition that is suitable for connection of the suspension means orarrangement to the suspension element.

Designs according to the invention thus make it possible to open thepackage in such a way that it provides good support for the drive in alldirections, even when large parts of the packaging have been removed andthe suspension means is exposed. The flat bottom plate with remainingspacing elements means that the drive stands steady on the base. Beforethe cover is removed and the first spacing elements are removed, thepackage can be placed, for example, on a pallet trolley, and by means ofwhich the drive can be easily installed at the correct installationheight and in the correct lateral position after the cover and the firstspacing elements have been removed. According to the invention, amounting fixture is obtained which is particularly advantageous to usefor the mounting of drives on boats that have a bathing platform at thestern. In such a situation, it has not previously been possible to use ahoist as an aid when mounting a drive, as the drive cannot be loweredfrom above into the mounting position, due to the platform being in theway.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference toexemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of atransport package according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a view corresponding to FIG. 1 with the package partiallyopened;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a boat propeller drive;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an opened package containing apropeller drive as shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 with the upper part of thepropeller drive and associated suspension device exposed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The package designated in general by the reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1is intended in particular for a boat propeller drive 2 of the type whichis shown in FIG. 3, and which comprises (includes but is not necessarilylimited to) an upper gear case 3, a drive shaft assembly 4 projectingdownwards from the gear case, a cavitation plate 5 located between thegear case and the drive shaft assembly, and a suspension fork 6 forpivotal suspension of the drive on a suspension plate (not shown)mounted on the stern of a boat.

The package 1 is in the shape of a parallelepiped with opposing paralleltransverse sides 7,8 opposing parallel front and rear sides 9,10 andopposing parallel upper and lower sides 11,12. The material for thesides is preferably corrugated board (cardboard). In FIGS. 1 and 2, thepackage 1 is placed on a pallet trolley 13. The transverse sides 7,8 areprovided with handles (not shown) at a suitable height, which make itpossible for two people, one on each side of the package, to lift up thepackage 1 onto the trolley 13 relatively easily before it is opened.

As shown in FIG. 2, the package consists of two main parts, namely abottom part 14 and a cover 15. The upper side 11 of the cover 15 isformed by four flaps 16 joined to the sides 7, 8, 9 and 10 in such a waythat they hinge so that the upper side 11 can be opened and loosecomponents enclosed in the package in association with a propeller drive2 enclosed in the package can first be removed before the cover 15 islifted off the bottom part 14.

When the cover 15 has been removed (see FIG. 4), the upper spacingelements 17 surrounding the gear case 3 are exposed. Exemplarily, theupper spacing elements consist of two longitudinal and two transversesheets 18 and 19, respectively, that are joined together and are made oflaminated corrugated board. The bottom part 14, together with associatedlower spacing elements 20, are exposed. The lower spacing elementscomprise two vertical sheets 21 arranged on each side of the drive shaftassembly 4 and a sheet 22 between the two vertical sheets that isinclined slightly towards a horizontal plane; preferably, these sheetsalso consist of laminated corrugated board.

The upper edges of the sheets 21 are designed with cutouts matching thethickness and length of the sheet 22, in which cutouts the sheet 22rests.

Parts 23 of the sheets 21 are inserted in turn into cutouts 24 in thefront edge of the sheet 22. The sheets 21 are fixed in a transversedirection relative to the bottom part 14 by means of blocks 25,26 whichare inserted between a low edge part 27 of the bottom part 14 and theoutside of the sheets 21. In the longitudinal direction, the sheets arefixed between the short sides 28 of the edge parts 27. The distancebetween the insides of the sheets 21 is matched to the largest dimensionof the drive shaft assembly 4 in a transverse direction so that thesheets 21, together with a cutout 29 in the sheet 22 (which cutout has ashape matching the outline of the cavitation plate 5, and parts 30 ofthe sheets 21 projecting upwards at the back edge of the cavitationplate 5) act together to keep the drive fixed upright in the positionshown in FIGS. 4 and 5; that with the underside of the cavitation plate5 resting against the upper edge of the sheets 21.

When the upper spacing element 17 has been removed (see FIG. 5), thegear case 3 with associated drive pickup point 31 and suspension fork 6are exposed and the drive can be moved easily to the correct lateralposition in relation to a suspension plate mounted on the stern of aboat, while the drive is on, for example, a pallet trolley. Thereafter,using the pallet trolley the drive can be raised to the correct leveland finally moved forward so that the drive pickup point can beconnected to the outgoing shaft of the motor and the suspension fork 6can be connected to pins on the suspension plate. In the embodimentshown, the sheet 22 is inclined forwards/downwards approximately 8°towards the horizontal plane. This places the suspension fork 6 in anideal position in relation to the pins on the suspension plate formounting the propeller drive.

Package(s) configured according to the invention have been describedabove with reference to a preferred embodiment, but both the materialand the shape of the individual components in the package can varywithin the framework of the invention, provided that the main provisionis fulfilled; namely that certain parts of the package can be removed inorder to expose the drive's suspension means (arrangement) while at thesame time the remaining parts of the package are sufficiently stable tohold the drive in a predetermined position for mounting.

1. A transport package for a boat propeller drive (2) of the type that has an upper gear case (3) enclosing a bevel gear, a drive shaft assembly (4) projecting downwards from the gear case, and means (6) for suspending the propeller drive on a suspension element fixed on the stern of a boat, which package forms a casing (1), which encloses the drive and contains spacing elements that hold the drive in position in the casing, characterized in that the casing (1) consists of at least two parts (14, 15) that can be separated from each other, one of which has a flat bottom plate (14) which forms a horizontal lower support surface when the casing is oriented in such a way that the drive stands upright with the gear case (3) and the suspension means (6) facing upwards, and the other forms a cover (15), which together with first spacing elements (17) can be separated from the bottom plate in order to expose the suspension means (6), and in that the bottom plate (14) and second spacing elements (21,22) are so arranged and dimensioned that after the removal of the cover and the first spacing elements the bottom plate together with the second spacing elements can be utilized as a mounting fixture for holding the drive in a position that is suitable for connection of the suspension means (6) to the suspension element.
 2. The transport package according to claim 1, characterized in that the casing (1) is in the shape of a parallelepiped and consists partly of a five-sided cover (15) with a height, length and width matched to the height, length and width of the drive which is to be enclosed, and partly of a bottom plate (14) with a corresponding length and width.
 3. The transport package according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom plate (14) has a low edge (27) that projects upwards which, when the casing is closed, is enclosed inside the cover and which, when the cover is removed, forms a lateral support for the second spacing elements (21,22).
 4. The transport package according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive shaft assembly of the propeller drive includes a cavitation plate (5) and the second spacing elements comprise two sheets (21) oriented in the longitudinal direction of the drive and fixed on the bottom plate on both sides of the drive shaft assembly, which sheets support between them a third sheet (22) with a cutout (29) that has a shape matched to the outline of the cavitation plate.
 5. The transport package according to claim 4, characterized in that the third sheet (22) is fixed at a slight incline in relation to the bottom plate (14).
 6. The transport package according to claim 1, characterized in that at least the bottom plate (14) and the second spacing elements (21,22) consist of laminated corrugated board.
 7. A transport package for a boat propeller drive (2) having an upper gear case (3) enclosing a bevel gear, a drive shaft assembly (4) projecting downwards from the gear case, and a suspension arrangement (6) configured to suspend the propeller drive on a suspension element fixed on the stern of a boat, the package comprising: a casing (1) that encloses the drive when in a transport configuration; spacing elements configured to hold the drive in a transport position in the casing; the casing (1) further comprising at least two separable parts (14, 15), one of which includes a flat bottom plate (14) forming a horizontal lower support surface for an upstanding drive (2) with the gear case (3) and the suspension means (6) facing upwards, and the other of the at least two separable parts (14, 15) forming a cover (15) which together with first spacing elements (17) are separable from the bottom plate thereby exposing the suspension arrangement (6); and the bottom plate (14) and second spacing elements (21,22) arranged and dimensioned so that after removal of the cover and the first spacing elements, the bottom plate, together with the second spacing elements constitute a mounting fixture for holding the drive in a position suitable for connecting the suspension arrangement (6) to the suspension element fixed on the stern of a boat.
 8. The transport package as recited in claim 7, wherein the casing (1) is parallelepiped-shaped and is constituted at least partly by a five-sided cover (15) with height, length and width correlated to the height, length and width of a drive to be enclosed thereby, and said casing further including a bottom opening correlated to matingly engage the bottom plate (14) thereby completing the enclosure of the casing (1).
 9. The transport package as recited in claim 7, wherein the bottom plate (14) has a low edge (27) that projects upwards and, when the casing is closed, is enclosed inside the cover, and when the cover is removed, forms a lateral support for the second spacing elements (21,22).
 10. The transport package as recited in claim 7, wherein the drive shaft assembly of the propeller drive includes a cavitation plate (5) and the second spacing elements comprise two sheets (21) oriented in the longitudinal direction of the drive and which are fixed on the bottom plate on both sides of the drive shaft assembly, which sheets support between them a third sheet (22) with a cutout (29) that has a shape matched to the outline of the cavitation plate.
 11. The transport package as recited in claim 10, wherein the third sheet (22) is fixed at a slight incline in relation to the bottom plate (14).
 12. The transport package as recited in claim 7, wherein at least the bottom plate (14) and the second spacing elements (21,22) consist of laminated corrugated board. 